Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SJR0345 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
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2	2	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
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4	4	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 345
5	5	By Pody
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8	8	SJR0345
9	9	006602
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to honor George McDonald upon his exemplary
13	13	career as a farmer.
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15	15	WHEREAS, the members of this General Assembly take great pleasure in recognizing a
16	16	gentleman who has devoted his entire life to agriculture, the cornerstone of Tennessee's
17	17	economy and the source of our long-held values of humility and industry; and
18	18	WHEREAS, a native of the Riddleton community in Smith County, George McDonald
19	19	began his career as a farmer in 1978, when he was only eighteen years old; and
20	20	WHEREAS, Mr. McDonald's success in the agriculture industry is indeed impressive,
21	21	and his time on the farm spans numerous trends and improvements in farming; and
22	22	WHEREAS, as a senior in high school, Mr. McDonald secured the triple crown of FFA by
23	23	winning the State FFA Public Speaking Contest and the State FFA Farmer Award, in addition to
24	24	serving as State FFA president; and
25	25	WHEREAS, he has been named the Tennessee Sunbelt Outstanding Famer of the Year
26	26	twice (1996 and 2024) and is a twelve-time winner of the National Corn Growers Yield Contest;
27	27	and
28	28	WHEREAS, Mr. McDonald won the Tennessee Farm Bureau's Young Farmers and
29	29	Ranchers Discussion Meet in 1985 and was honored with the American Farm Bureau's Young
30	30	Farmer Achievement Award in 1990; and
31	31	WHEREAS, he continues to protect and preserve our farming heritage as a member of
32	32	the Farmer Credit Mid-American Advocate Council and the University of Tennessee (UT)
33	33	Extension's Smith County Row Crop Advisory Board and a trustee of the Tennessee Nature
34	34	Conservancy; and
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39	39	WHEREAS, George McDonald previously served the farming profession as chairman,
40	40	vice chairman, and a board member of the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural
41	41	Resources Advisory Council, chairman of the Tennessee Corn Promotion Board, president of
42	42	the Tennessee Fruit and Vegetable Association, and chairman of Tennessee Farm Bureau
43	43	Feed Grains Committee; and
44	44	WHEREAS, Mr. McDonald is deeply attached to his native Smith County, and he has
45	45	generously served his fellow citizens in numerous capacities, including as chairman of the Smith
46	46	County Soil Conservation District, president and board member of the Smith County Farm
47	47	Bureau, Smith County Chamber of Commerce, and Smith Farmers Co-op, and chairman of the
48	48	Highway 25 Water Utility District; and
49	49	WHEREAS, he was deservedly honored as "Outstanding Citizen" by the Smith County
50	50	Chamber of Commerce in 1991; and
51	51	WHEREAS, in 2023, George McDonald proudly hosted the U.S. House Agriculture
52	52	Committee at his Catesa Farm, which will mark 100 years of family ownership in 2027 and
53	53	qualify for certification as a Tennessee Century Farm; and
54	54	WHEREAS, in addition to his many accomplishments in agriculture, Mr. McDonald is
55	55	most grateful for the love and companionship he shares with his family: wife, Susan McDonald;
56	56	daughter, Celia McDonald Dillon; daughter, Sarah McDonald, who is an essential member of
57	57	the family's farming operation; and mother, Linda McDonald; and
58	58	WHEREAS, George McDonald is a noble son of the soil who has endured times both
59	59	good and bad to make his family's farm one of the most successful agriculture operations in
60	60	Tennessee, and he is most worthy of our approbation; now, therefore,
61	61	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
62	62	GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENN ESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
63	63	REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we honor and commend George McDonald upon his
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68	68	exemplary career in farming, thank him for helping to preserve Tennessee's family farming
69	69	tradition, and recognize his many contributions to this State's most important industry.
70	70	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
71	71	for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
72	72	the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
73	73	without House or Senate designation.
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